When I named this podcast, I chose to focus the title on “Silicon Valley”. Why? I don’t even live there. It comes down to bias. Today’s episode is about breaking that bias. Mario Ferrer was a senior UX writer at King Games, now he’s a senior UX writer at Skyscanner. He’s also one of the cofounders of the UX Writers Meetup in Barcelona - and he’s perfectly placed to help us understand the UX writing community outside the United States. Why do we focus so much on Silicon Valley? For a good reason ...
Oct 27, 2020•37 min
First thing’s first: listeners to the podcast can get 15% of tickets to Button! Use the code “UXWC” at checkout to get 15% off: www.buttonconf.com . Kristina Halvorson is the CEO and founder of Brain Traffic , the coauthor of Content Strategy for the Web , the founder of Confab Events , and the host of The Content Strategy Podcast . Her seminal article, The Discipline of Content Strategy , was published in 2008 by A List Apart, the world’s most popular online magazine for web professionals. Need...
Oct 10, 2020•36 min
So many of the conversations on this podcast have been focused on the relationships between UX writing and content strategy. My guest today wants to help clear that up a little bit. Scott Kubie is one of the most well-regarded voices in content strategy. Currently a free agent on contract at Mailchimp, Scott's worked previously as the Lead Content Strategist at Brain Traffic (alongside content strategy expert Kristina Halvorson). Before that, he worked as a content strategist and interface write...
Sep 20, 2020•44 min
“Text might be its own vertical in the product stack.” I don’t think I’ve ever been so impressed by people so young. I’m 33, so I’m allowed to say that now. For a while, guests on the podcast have asked me: is there a way to manage our copy end-to-end? For a long time, the best answer I’ve had to give is something like Airtable. But now, Jessica Ouyang and Jolena Ma have created Ditto - and it’s the answer to a lot of prayers. In this episode, I speak with Jessica and Jolena about their product ...
Aug 05, 2020•41 min
Please donate to these national organisations in the United States advocating for racial justice: The Bail Project National Bail Fund Network Act Blue (Donation split between 39 community bail funds) Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law NAACP Legal Defence Fund ACLU LGBTQ Freedom Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------ It's been just over a year since I started Writers of Silicon Valley. In that time I've interviewed 12 expert UX writers and content strat...
Jun 21, 2020•31 min
Ever wondered what it’s like to work at Google? Sure you have. In today’s episode, I speak with Shayla Byrd, a UX writer at Google, about what it’s like there - and so much more. This might be one of the most illuminating conversations I’ve had in a long time. Shayla has an extensive history, ranging from poetry to journalism. Shayla Byrd is a New York-based writer who works at Google as a content strategist and UX writer. Before working in tech, she used her words to tell stories ( People , InS...
May 06, 2020•40 min
Early Bird tickets for the UX Writing + Content Design Summit are now on sale! Buy now and save $100. Don’t miss out! Visit www.uxwcdsummit.com ————————————————————————- Streaming media is the big war right now in tech. Apple wants a piece, Amazon wants it, Disney is hitting out in a big way. But Netflix was there first, and so I was fascinated to have this conversation with Ben Barone-Nugent about the design challenges there. Specifically, the design challenges associated with words and languag...
Mar 03, 2020•40 min
There have been a few books on UX writing published, all of them very good, but I think this one might take the cake. Andy Welfle and Michael J Metts have written "Writing is Designing". I think it advances the conversation as it approaches writing as a design tool, and builds on the great work that has already been published by other UX writers. Listen to our conversation and you'll see why. A few things: 1. Buy Writing is Designing from Rosenfeld Media 2. Andy and Michael are hosting a launch ...
Jan 22, 2020•27 min
Are you looking for a job as a UX writer in 2020? Then no hyperbole: you need to listen to this podcast. Gordon MacRae is an instructional designer, product manager, UX writer, and more. He started the UX Writing Jobs newsletter in 2018 to collate all the opportunities for UX writers around the world, and he's learned more along the way about the market than just about anyone else. After all, you don't talk with hiring managers and read job ads every month without understanding a thing or two ab...
Jan 05, 2020•45 min•Ep. 10
Spotify! Do you use it? Probably. Remember when we owned CDs? Crazy. Actually, you know what’s crazy? Paying for stuff I don’t have in my hands. I’m 32, so I still want to read that lyrics sheet damn it. No, streaming is better. And Tamara Hilmes is one of the people making it better. She’s a UX Writing Manager at Spotify, and she and I spent some time talking about her background, what makes working at Spotify so great, and the skills she needs to succeed at a major company there - and how to s...
Nov 26, 2019•37 min
Dropbox is one of those fascinating companies. Steve Jobs wanted to buy it at one point. Now it's huge. HUGE. With that growth comes a need for UX writing, and that's why Angela Gorden is here today. Angela Gorden is all about making big ideas easy to absorb. Currently a UX writer and manager at Dropbox, she studied design thinking at Stanford University and creative writing at the University of Iowa. Angela blogs about product, design, and writing on Medium . Angela is a big thinker in the UX w...
Sep 04, 2019•36 min•Ep. 8
Yep, I get it. You signed up to listen to other UX writers, not me. In that case I say, skip! Delete! Burn! Destroy your phone, even. Last week I gave a presentation to Content Melbourne , at General Assembly. I spoke about how journalism skills can help you as a UX writer. It’s just a piece of bonus content, so I hope you enjoy it. Resources mentioned in this episode: - Elements of Style - Strategic Writing for UX...
Aug 05, 2019•30 min
We spend so much time and effort thinking about UX writing that’s “delightful” we often miss the point: form over function. Good UX writing should be…pretty boring, actually. That’s what i discuss in today’s episode with Ryan Farrell. Ryan is a content strategist at GoodRx, but you might very well know him as the creator of the Daily UX Writing Challenge . As of the time this episode went live, the free course had over 2200 students. That’s crazy. Crazy good. In today’s episode, we talk about th...
Jul 20, 2019•45 min•Ep. 6
I am terrible at fashion. Well, maybe not too terrible. I can dress myself. I look nice on occasion. But I definitely don’t know the ins and outs, let alone from a UX writing context. That’s why I enjoyed my conversation with Annie Adams so much. At the time we spoke. Annie was working as a UX writer in the fashion industry (she’s still a UX writer, just in a different industry now). Our conversation covered so much - best practices for testing copy, the nuances of the fashion industry, and much...
May 26, 2019•35 min•Ep. 5
Yo, chatbots. They’re all the rage, but are they actually going to be a necessary tool for UX writers and content strategists in the future? How essential are they to your arsenal? If they are, what skills do you need to learn? That’s the crux of today’s interview with Hillary Black, VP of Strategy & Conversation Design at Black Ops. Her company has created multiple chatbots for clients in the insurance, finance, and retail industries. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the podcast about wh...
Apr 20, 2019•49 min•Ep. 4
Kathryn Strauss is currently a Senior UX Writer at Square, but her background extends far beyond that with roles at Wells Fargo, US Bank, WebEx, Glassdoor and Weebly. It would take hours to speak about everything she’s done at those roles, so I tried to keep our conversation high level. We spoke about how writers can participate in UX research, the future of the industry, and the types of skills it takes to be a really, really good UX Writer and Content Strategist. Stuff we mentioned: The San Fr...
Apr 06, 2019•47 min•Ep. 3
Working remotely is something most people dream of. For Sophie Tahran at Invision, it's a lifestyle. I spoke to her about what it's like to work for a fully remote company, how her time at Lyft impacted her design sensibilities, and what it's like to work for one of the biggest software companies in UX. We also spoke about what it's like to create governance and style guidelines for an entire company. If UX writing governance and guidelines is your thing - then this interview is for you. -------...
Mar 23, 2019•54 min•Ep. 2
Welcome to Writers of Silicon Valley! This podcast interviews UX writers and content strategists about their craft. This first episode features Roy West, design director of UX Writing at Uber. We speak about his history at Uber, Google and even at Next during the early 1990s. Writers of Silicon Valley is hosted by Patrick Stafford, senior digital copywriter at MYOB. He's the co-founder and chief marketing officer at the UX Writers Collective. Listeners get 20% off podcasts and workshops at UX Co...
Mar 10, 2019•48 min•Ep. 1
